******Author's Note: Thanks to all. It's good to be back. The next chapter sets our story up a little bit more. Again, fair warning, this is a fluffy little piece that will earn it's M rating in coming chapters. I'll also send a shout out to the inspiration for the little game they wind up playing. There's a funny, funny story there and an inside joke. Hope you continue to enjoy. I appreciate all feedback more than you know!******
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They sat at the small round table in the break room eating canned stew from white plastic bowls. Under any other circumstances, it might have been a pathetic tableau for a Christmas Eve meal. However, both women wore contented smiles.
"You want another slice of bread?" Olivia asked mopping some gravy up with a slice of Elliot's emergency loaf of Wonder Bread.
"No thanks. I'm not sure my body can process that much bleached flour in a single night." Alex winked across the table and added. "Besides, I have to save room for dessert."
Olivia licked her lips under the guise of clearing them of gravy. Something about the twinkle in the glacier blue eyes made her stomach flutter a little more than usual. "I can hardly wait."
Alex reached in to the now half disintegrated paper bag and pulled out a package of Twinkies. "Ta da!"
"Ta da? You won't eat white bread...but you'll eat whatever the hell it is they put in the middle of a Twinkie?" Olivia's expression was mock horror.
"What can I say? I don't have many vices. This is one." The blonde grinned from ear to ear. She was having a great time with Olivia and was enjoying their playful and at times flirty banter. She could blame the Southern Comfort if she wanted to, but deep down she knew better.
"Hmpf. Alexandra Cabot has vices? Be still my heart!" Olivia reached across and grabbed her empty bowl and tossed it in the garbage.
"Oh, like you don't have any?" Alex sat back in her seat and waited for an answer.
"Of course I do. And not all of them as healthy as Twinkies." Olivia scratched her ear lobe in deep thought.
"You aren't going to share?" Alex looked like she might pout.
Liv pursed her lips and shook her head.
"Fine. Then I'm not sharing my Twinkies." Alex grabbed the plastic package and tore it open in a huff.
Olivia shook her head with a small sigh. If she had ever wondered what Alex was like as a child, this was probably it. "Fine. You want to know one of my vices? I'll tell you one of my vices. But if I participate in yours, you participate in mine. Deal?"
Alex nodded quickly then quirked an eyebrow. "What could it possibly be that we could participate in here? Now? Strip Go-Fish!?"
Olivia's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe what Alex had just said. It was hilariously funny yet with a naughty bent to it. She squinted her eyes as an evil thought occurred to her. "How did you guess, counselor?"
"Oh, very, very funny." Alex held Olivia's gaze.
Olivia wasn't giving an inch. She set her jaw, arched an eyebrow and held out her hand. "I'll have my Twinkie now, please."
Alex shook her head slightly and blushed. "You have got to be kidding."
"I'm not. And it was YOUR idea." Olivia looked pleased with herself. Alone in the precinct on Christmas Eve with Alex Cabot, stranded in a blizzard, she was finding herself more bold than she'd ever dreamed.
Alex closed her eyes and shivered against the thought of playing strip anything with Olivia Benson. She ran her fingertips over her mouth in contemplation. She looked down for a moment.
"You're not going to welch on our deal are you, counselor?" Olivia decided to prod a little harder. Worst-case scenario, Alex dropped the subject. Best-case scenario... She felt the fluttering in her stomach followed by a warmth at the thought of the best-case scenario.
Alex looked up and locked on to Olivia's warm eyes that held hers with a playful shine. She fixed her posture, let out a long breath and handed Olivia one of her Twinkies. As she did, the corners of her mouth turned up in a small smile.
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Olivia was carrying a deck of cards and their bottle of Southern Comfort. Alex had their mugs and a couple candy canes. She felt more than a little lightheaded walking back in to the crib. Olivia had suggested going in there since it would afford them privacy and a locked door.
As Olivia locked the door behind them, Alex began to giggle.
Olivia cocked her head to one side and leaned against the locked door. "You find something amusing, counselor?"
"Yes, actually, I do." Alex cleared her throat.
Olivia slowly nodded and approached the still chuckling blonde attorney. "And what is that exactly?" She strode up to her and stood in her personal space.
The brunette's warm breath was laced with sugar from dessert and the drink. Not flinching, Alex responded. "Let's see. In no particular order: We're about to play Strip Go-Fish!. We're both fairly drunk. I am at an extremely unfair disadvantage since I'm wearing way fewer pieces of clothing than you. Oh, and I can think of at least a dozen guys who would give a month's salary to be standing here."
"See. That's all very true, counselor, but not all that funny." She took a deep breath and another half step toward Alex. Olivia's mind clouded over a bit when she inhaled the scent of Alex. "In the interest of fair play, count the articles of clothing you're wearing and I'll make sure I have the same. Fair enough?"
Alex suddenly couldn't remember what she thought was so funny. Sweet reason was telling her that this was a bad idea. Getting naked with one of your detectives to kill time, at the very precinct where they work, no less, could lead to sanctions at the very, very least. Olivia's last two words were practically breathed in to her ear. She closed her eyes and nodded almost against her will.
"Let's play." Olivia reached out and grabbed Alex's hand. She smiled warmly as she felt Alex's cold fingers wrap around the warmth of her strong hand. "You cold?"
Alex shook her head, suddenly shy.
"You ok?" Olivia turned toward Alex. She saw many emotions in eyes the color of the deep blue sea. "We don't have to do this. It was silly." She took Alex's hand and covered it with both of hers and rubbed to warm it. "Say something."
All Alex could do was breathe. Her Harvard educated mind went blank. Her mouth went dry. She was about to place herself in a situation that she had only ever conjured up in her mind to relieve some stress after a particularly difficult case.
Olivia had at first been an annoyance to her. The headstrong detective never wanted to play by the rules and made her job of prosecuting that much harder. It wasn't until they'd been working together for some time that Alex realized what drove the dark haired detective was an uncanny desire for justice for the victims. Justice that too frequently never came. They'd grown closer and might even be considered friends these last months. It wasn't until after the Cavanaugh case when she'd been serving her suspension that she'd had time to think. Her thoughts brought her back to Olivia more than she'd care to admit. One night, deciding her body required some release, she'd planned an evening of pampering and self-gratification. After ordering in some Thai and drinking a couple glasses of her favorite Shiraz, she took a long, hot bath. The next part of her evening took her to her bedroom where she'd lit some scented candles. She closed her eyes, caressed her body and tried to fill her head with an image that would aid her arousal. Instead of a past lover or a host of imaginary ones, the image was one of Olivia Benson. Her eyes had flown open in shock, but at the same time she had felt the warm flush of arousal course through her body. Suddenly it all made sense. They way her heart pounded in her chest when Olivia would stand close to her. How she managed to respond to Olivia's calls just a little more quickly than others. She closed her eyes again and allowed images of Olivia to flood her mind. Her body followed her mind to the sweet oblivion brought on by thoughts and images of her detective and what she might do to her. Afterwards, lying on her bed panting, her body glistening in a sheen of perspiration, she couldn't believe she'd allowed herself the amazing release she had experienced at the imagined hands of Olivia. She bit her bottom lip and wondered how she'd ever face the detective again. Somehow, over the next several weeks of her suspension, she'd managed to push that wanton incident far enough from her mind that she could work with Olivia again and keep that little secret...until now.
"Alex? Are you ok?" Olivia's hand had moved up and now squeezed her shoulder. "Alex?"
Alex swallowed hard, blinked a couple times and came back to her senses. "Five."
"Ok, sweetie, if you're talking in code, I'm not tracking with you." Olivia looked confused.
"Five articles of clothing, Olivia." A smile slowly crawled across her face. They were going to do this.
Now it was Olivia's turn to chuckle. Her bright smile spread and caused her eyes to twinkle. "Five, huh? You sure?"
"Positive." Alex sat on the cot, crossed her legs and held out her hand for the cards. "I'll shuffle, you deal."
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